CARIBOU, Maine — The weekend of Oct. 14-15 will be a busy one in Caribou as the annual Arts and Crafts Fair will be at Caribou High School and a new event, the CARL Fall Spectacular, will be going on at the Caribou Wellness and Recreation Center.
The Fall Spectacular will feature displays by some 25 local merchants offering hundreds of dollars of merchandise as donations to the Center for the Advancement of Rural Living. Individuals attending the event will have the opportunity to purchase tickets on the displays and drop the tickets in buckets next to the display. At the end of the event on Sunday the name of the winners will be drawn from the buckets. Bernie Lagasse, member of the CARL Board of Directors and chairperson of the Spectacular event said that the concept is a familiar one in the County.
“There are a number of these events happening now”, said Lagasse. “It is an exciting project because you never know who is going to win the display until the very last minute and some of these displays are worth hundreds of dollars. We are so grateful for the generosity of area businesses and organizations that make these events possible in support of worthy causes.”
There is no charge to attend the Fall Spectacular. The donated displays will be placed all around the Recreation Center and people will have the opportunity to see the merchandise. Participants can choose to purchase tickets and put them all on one display or put tickets on multiple displays.
Peggy Smith, also a CARL board member, said that proceeds from the event will benefit CARL’s programs and she hopes it will become an annual event.
“CARL is a relatively new, grass roots organization that has been working on several fronts”, said Smith who is a member of the Spectacular planning committee. “We are currently operating Recovery Houses for men and women here in Caribou and we have just launched a volunteer driver program to assist older adults and the visually impaired with their transportation needs. Before the pandemic we worked to revitalize the Caribou Performing Arts Center and hope to continue that effort. We hope to bring more entertainment, arts and culture to the region. The Spectacular will be our most significant fund raising project and we hope to make it an annual event”.
As a special collaboration with the Arts and Crafts Fair people who attend both events will have a chance to win a $500 gift card donated by Hannaford’s in Caribou. Participants will pick up a form at either event and bring it to the other venue. The forms will be collected and one winner will be drawn.
CARL is an all-volunteer 501C-3 nonprofit organization based in Caribou. The organization is managed by a 15 member board of directors and meets monthly. CARL’s office is located in the former Powers Theatre building on Sweden Street in Caribou.
Businesses are still to be contacted to participate in the Spectacular. The displays/prizes will be set up in 10- by 10-foot booths and do not have to be manned throughout the weekend. Bernie Lagasse said that not having to man the display makes the event more practical for businesses to participate.
“Not having to have staff spend the entire weekend with the booth takes a lot of the pressure off the business”, said Lagasse. “We would love more businesses to join the event and help CARL continue to energize the County with our special projects.”
To learn more about having a display at the Fall Spectacular contact Lagasse at 207-551-9056 or blagasse@wagmtv.com.
